


Cervidae

by dollsoap



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Asexual Relationship, F/M, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I'm Bad At Tagging, Inspired by Music, M/M, Mental Health Issues, No Sex, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Song: Toxic (Britney Spears)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollsoap/pseuds/dollsoap
Summary: I randomly got a pang of interest to start writing fics again after a couple of years so hopefully, it's worth the while! I do have a playlist that goes along with how I want the fic to sound/feel so... Check it out if you'd like.Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1m2WclkoYkphmD9HPpYqLv?si=2hb2pTxnR7mVUNQFSxW1FA
Relationships: Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers | Ticci Toby/You, Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers|Ticci Toby/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Hello?

**Author's Note:**

> Notes will hold any sort of warnings or specifications I have for certain chapters. Though I believe for this chapter, it's not too complicated to where anything like that is needed. Let me know what you think!

The cold nip from the autumn breeze wasn't the only thing making you uncomfortable at the moment. Usually, when you buy a house, the past resident is long gone (at least you thought so), but this one was adamant about speaking with you. The strange man in front of you held large purple bags under his eyes and his words rumbled with paranoia. You just stood and stared, like the dumbass you were. He rambled cryptic words only someone who had their brain scrambled would say. Something about eyes and static. If only you had the nerve to tell him you had been in the same spot at one point. Paranoid, sleep deprived, of no sense. Before you could even let out a breath, the ex-resident shifted his eyes to the forest a few houses down and froze. Weird.

"Listen man," Your words snapped him out of his daze, "It was nice talking to you n' all but... Can I get into my house? It's freezing... You should head to wherever you're going, too." 

You pitied him. You couldn't even remember how you got yourself into this mess. A few weeks ago you had officially moved in and had no problems until now. Within that time he was bound to have somewhere to go. He'd be fine. Maybe he was just trying to freak you out or make you vulnerable for his own reasons. The man blinked a few times, opening and closing his mouth as if he had more to say but didn’t have the right words to convey. In almost a sense of defeat, he let out a sigh and walked off without another word. He got into a car across the street, slamming the door, and drove off. _What the actual fuck was that?_

Trying your best to not let it get under your skin, you padded over to your door and slid into the warm abode. Awaiting you was your beautiful boy, Apollo. Did you name your dog after a god? Maybe. But was it the most adorable thing to call your black German Sheppard? Of course. Though every once in a while, you'd pull an out of context nickname like "Bubba" or “Big Guy”. Regardless, there he was and full of so much excitement to see you.

"Hey, big guy!" You cooed as Apollo wagged over to you with a happy smile.

He wasn't much of a licker but boy did he love to show his appreciation for you. Apollo ran into your legs and looked up to you with his big brown eyes, begging for you to pet him. How could you disappoint? You bent down and gave him the best pats and rubs a dog could ever enjoy. The love was so much that you almost forgot about the odd experience from just a few moments ago. Standing, Apollo let out a protestant whine before going to lay down on his fuzzy pillow in the living room. You gave him a small smile before going into the kitchen. You let your mind wander to senseless nothings about what the man could have meant. Then your stomach grumbled. You hadn't eaten all day.

The day went by quicker than you thought it would. Sitting on your couch with a blanket and a warm mug of tea, you basically wormed out all day. It was nice. Watching nonsensical trash TV or rare finds on Youtube had become a new hobby. Even if laying around was nice, at some point you'd have to get up. The sky outside was dark and Apollo slept peacefully in his bed. Maybe you should do the same. With a flick of the lights and a trudge up the stairs, you noticed how it got gradually colder with your ascent. Furrowing your brows and lightly hugging your arms as a form of warmth, you peered into your empty guest room. _The window was open_.

No. You probably had opened the window while painting the walls and forgot. Sure your progress with decorating the house as you pleased was taking a bit longer than you would have hoped. But you lived on your own, what could you expect? Regardless, the window was probably not that big of a deal. You shuffled into the cold, crispy room and pushed down the window. For a second you could have sworn you saw fingerprints on the outside of the glass but maybe they were simply your own. Pushing away the creeping paranoia, you slid the window lock in before heading back into your room. 

It was small but cozy. This was the most decked out room of the house and you were quite pleased with it so far. No, nothing was completely decorated just yet, but most of the furniture you wanted in here was. Plus you had a window that protruded out so you could sit and look outside to the woods whenever you pleased. You had big plans for this room but just needed time to fill it in. Just not now, the now was for sleep. Setting your phone on a custom wireless charger that you spent way too much money on, you slipped into your bed and under the sheets. You sighed when you had almost forgotten to put something on your phone to listen to. Most of the time, you had trouble sleeping without any other noises going on. Silence was deafening and made your thoughts run at a million miles an hour. Not to mention the small bumps and whispers you could sometimes hear in the middle of the night. It was best to keep on soft music or a podcast to have your brain focus on something other than the emptiness. Even with how important it was to you, thinking of seeing the blinding light of a phone screen was almost enough reason to roll over and deal with it. But the thought of having to deal with your own brain for another 5 seconds convinced you otherwise. Taking the phone and turning it on, you cringed at the brightness, missing a moving figure in the darkness of the hallway. Your peripherals screamed at you but when your eyes snapped to the doorway, you were met with nothing. This was the exact reason why you needed to start playing something. Going into your podcasts and putting on the most calming one, you put the phone back in its place. It took a while but eventually, the words lulled you into sleep.

The morning was swell. The window of your room flowed in the fresh air from outside and allowed for you to hear the chirping and singing birds from the forest. You basked in the morning sun, keeping your eyes closed and not wanting to move or get up. Yet, in your moments of comfort, you felt a harsh push into your stomach, releasing an "Ouff!"

Your eyes snapped open to look at the source of your pain. Apollo. That little jerk. He blinked his warm brown eyes at you lovingly and wagged his tail. He was either really excited to see you this morning or was just hungry. You'd go with the latter. With a groan, you got up, the grogginess of sleep just now catching up to you. With a tumble down the stairs, you went to Apollo's food bowl and filled it for him, "There you go, Bubba." 

With a yawn and wag of his tail, he dug right into his food like it was going to be the last thing he'd ever see. That made you laugh. You'd have to treat your pup to a walk later today when it warmed up a bit more. You still had yet to explore the woods and it had been itching at you for these past few days. For some reason, the swaying trees irked you to be curious, as if something was waiting for you. Those thoughts soon passed when you decided to get ready for your day. Hopping into the shower for a nice steam, you jammed out to some jams. Maybe your singing/yelling was audible to the neighbors. Your annoying side hoped so. 

When the time came for you to get dressed, you entered your room only to be met with yet another open window. _It was open this morning._ You recalled your morning events and quickly slammed the window shut, locking it just like the last. Closing the curtains, you rushed into a quick outfit of jeans and a black t-shirt. You didn't have time for style with how fast your heart rate picked up. How did _he_ get here? How _could_ he get here? It was impossible. The more you thought about your past and the logistics of the now, the less likely it all seemed to be. Plus, you tried your best to avoid thinking about your reason for leaving your old life. You honestly could have opened it while you were half awake and passed back out. It wasn't uncommon for you to do things like that. Yet, it couldn't hurt to be more cautious.

Before taking out Apollo, you made sure all the locks on the doors and windows were tight. No one could blame you for trying to be safe. It was normal to do this kind of thing. Normal. Now that your good morning was ruined by your paranoia and overthinking, you’d have to go by other means to make it better. Grabbing Apollo's leash off of the counter made the pup's ears perk up and happily trot over to where you were. You patted his head before putting it around his neck, "Let's go, big boy." 

You grabbed a hoodie, scribed with “sufficiently sauced” and a print of a pike underneath of it, to bring along with you. What could you say? You we’re a person of culture. Locking the door behind you, the small _click_ soothed your nerves. You'd make the rest of today good. You weren't going to let your anxious self get the best of your fine day. Popping in a pair of earbuds, you let your feet lead the way with Apollo happily at your side. As you neared the forest, the irking of curiosity filled you once more. Now that you were here, maybe you'd get that damn itch out of your head. Beginning on the small dirt trail, it didn't take long for the sounds of town to be nulled by the quiet wooded atmosphere. The soft tunes in your ears mixed with the songs of birds made your heart soften. You really should have done this earlier. The crunching of leaves and sticks beneath your feet would have alluded to anything of your presence. So, naturally, a red squirrel popped out from behind a bush and scurried off of the trail. Apollo's eyes shined with delight and bolted after the tiny creature. _Fuck._

The leash slid from your grip and trailed behind the pooch, being lost in the shrubs and trees, away from sight. That's when your heart rate picked up. You chased after your dog and prayed that he wouldn't go too far off the trail. Hoping the squirrel would go up a tree and have your chase die, the woods were filled with silence. You could no longer hear your dog, the birds, or even your music for that matter. You spun and looked around at your surroundings. You were off the trail and couldn't remember which way to follow. Of course your day had to be ruined. You could never get a good day in without something fucking it up. Your hands found their way to your head as you tried to bring yourself back down to Earth. You still had some daylight left. Sure the sun was setting, but that didn't mean you couldn't find Apollo and get the hell out of here before the stars began to rise. Taking deep breaths and taking out the buds in your ears, you tried to follow the trail that Apollo was on. Maybe he was waiting for you in the bushes somewhere or staring up a tree for a squirrel to fall into his mouth. You slightly amused yourself with the thought.

Ten minutes passed. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Finding yourself a log to sit down upon, your hands and arms were propped for your head to lay upon them in a sulk. Slightly rubbing the dirt at your feet, your ears picked up movement in the distance. Your head perked up. It had to have been Apollo! The panting from the sheppard slowly came into your hearing from behind. Before you could turn around, a hand tapped your shoulder. "Eeek!" You jumped and swirled around while standing up.

Your eyes frantically searched in the dark for whoever it was. Finding your gaze placed upon a figure in front of you, the sight of your baby boy came to you. Your face grew a smile, "Apollo!" 

A small chuckle came from the figure and stepped closer. You could now see who it was. A man a few inches taller than yourself with scruffy brown hair looked down at you. A pair of goggles and a mask rested on his face, covering most of his features. He held the light red leash in his hand and motioned it towards you, for you to take. You timidly took the leash and Apollo trotted over to your side before sitting down. Now that you had your dog back, you had to get out of this forest. And maybe thank this stranger in front of you. You began by clearing your throat, "H-hi there..." 

God, you sounded pathetic. It had been a little over a month since the last time you tried initiating any conversation with another person. But your worry over sounding too small to the other person died down when another small chuckle emitted from the man, "H-Hey there." He waved a gloved hand to you.

Was he mocking you or just had been cursed with nervous stutters just like you had? Your eyes shifted away from him and to your dog, "Thanks for... uh... Getting me my dog back."

"It's nuh-no problem." His voice seemed to hold a smile in it. Cute.

Nope. No way were you going to call a guy you just met and who also had most of his face covered "cute". You shoved the nosy thoughts out of your brain again, "So, d-do you know a way out of here?" You mumbled.

"Sure I do." He stuck his hands in his coat pocket casually. Not moving. 

"So... Wanna help me out of here?"

"Hmmm..." He pretended as if he were thinking to himself about an answer, looking back to you with a glint in his eyes. Maybe it was the fish hoodie he was looking at. It was hilarious. With the small moment passed, he nodded, "Why not? Don't want anyone getting lost tonight." 

The use of the word "tonight" had you cocking a brow but you quickly tried to loosen your expression, hoping he hadn't seen in it in the dark. Clearing your throat again to hopefully lessen the possibility of stuttering or being too quiet, you took a small sidestep to entail getting a move on. It was dark and you quite honestly didn't want your mind imagining whispers or moving figures while you were with a stranger. The man turned and began to walk, having you catch up to his side. 

It was quiet. Almost a little too quiet. Your eyes fell to the dirt in front of you. Was meeting someone outside of work or school in adult life always this awkward? It was almost as if he caught on to your awkwardness as he spoke up, "I'm Tuh-Toby." He stated while still having his gaze forward. Not even giving you a glance.

"(y/n)..." You responded. Something in his posture and composure showed you that he either felt comfortable in the dark silence or that there was no surprise to the awkward encounter you two were conversing in. A trait you wish you could have as well. 

A few moments passed as the two of you walked in silence. The sound of a distant bird or two finally coming back into your senses. The crickets started to crescendo in their sound and lightly chirped in the bushes and tall grass. Your nerves seemed to slip away as comfortability took over. Comfortable with the stranger beside you. Comfortable with the night sounds of the woods. Comfortable with yourself. It was almost too much. For the first time in weeks, you finally felt okay in silence. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all. Maybe you could strike up some conversation and it wouldn't be awkward. And that's exactly what you did.

"So what were you doing out here? In the middle of the forest?" You inquired.

"O-oh y'know..." Was all he said at first. After hearing no laugh or amusement from you, he continued, "I live fuh-further down the t-trail and then some... It's common fuh-for me to buzz ah-around here." 

His stutters were less of nerves and more so of an actual impediment, you concluded. Not that you cared. It added to his mysterious woodsman vibe. You kinda liked it. Slightly smiling to yourself you decided to ask a bit more, "Nice... Any particular reason why?"

"Nuh-not really... I like the q-quiet." Toby admitted, taking his hands out of his pockets.

After that, the air stayed quiet. As you walked side by side, your hands would brush every once in a while. When they did, his hand would slightly twitch against yours. Another quirk, possibly. You pretended like you didn't notice. Who needed any more awkwardness in this situation? Not you, that's for sure. The feeling of gloves left behind didn't phase you as you just wanted to get back into familiar territory. Noticing the lights from town lowly shining through the trees, you perked up and quickened your step. Toby stopped in his tracks as if there was a line in front of him that he couldn't cross. You stopped as well, turning to face him. You supposed it was due to him not needing to lead you anymore. You gave him a small smile to show your appreciation towards him, "Thank you, Toby. I don't think I could have gotten out of there without the help..." You adverted your eyes to the side, a bit too awkward to hold eye contact for too long.

He gave a nod, a smile emitting from his tone, "Of course... A-anytime." He stuttered.

Toby seemed nice. Maybe you could even be friends.

You put a hand to your neck and looked back to him, "I guess I'll catch you around then?"

"You will." He snickered, beginning to take small steps backward, all while still looking at you. No stuttering, either.

"Then until then, Toby." You gave him a final wave before spinning around in the direction of your warm house.

Now that was a little weird, wasn't it? But a good kind of weird. Could weird even be good? Hopefully. You hoped that you would see him again. Your hope also slipped into gratitude for being so worn out. Being out so long in the cold really took the energy out of a person. You made your way into your warm house, not bothering to care for the unlocked front door. Setting your jacket off to the side and tossing Apollo's leash onto the counter, you were exhausted, ready for some well deserved sleep. Apollo looked the same, too. Maybe it was a blessing he chased after that squirrel after all.


	2. Doe Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy folks! Sorry for it being a couple of days since the first chapter. I'm not sure how consistent updates will be but I'm doing the best I can. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm always up for criticism so be sure to leave a comment if you have any.
> 
> A/N  
> I went back and edited chapter one and got it a bit past 3,000 words so if you’re interested there’s a bit more depth in it now!

Tumbling out of bed, you stretched on your floor. With a moment’s laziness seeping into you, your body laid there for a few minutes, basking in the almost-afternoon sun. You weren’t sure as to why so much grogginess filled your brain but it did. All you wished for was to lay here and never wake up. But that wouldn’t do, you had a life to live. And also a dog to feed. With a grunt, you pushed yourself up and went to pick up your phone from its normally designated spot. Instead, your hand felt nothing. Your brows knit in confusion as your eyes flickered about, looking for the rectangle. It had to be somewhere around the house. You couldn’t have slept without it so that had to have meant it was here. Pausing in your step, you recalled yesterday’s events. How your music stopped suddenly in the forest, how you never actually played anything with how tired you were, and how the sudden absence only led to one thing; You dropped it in the woods when Apollo had run off.   
  
_There goes another good day._

You tried your best to not let your disappointment get the best of you. After all, maybe it could give you a chance to see the strange man in the woods again. Since moving here, you hadn’t had too much luck finding new people to talk to. You tried greatly to find a job but it was hard in a rural area without a car so meeting new people at a job was out of the equation. In response to last night, your need for socializing had latched itself onto that conversation. If you could even call it a conversation. It was only small bits of back and forth and you barely even knew the guy. Maybe he was a creep like most people you came across these days. Or he was something better. Toby seemed to be outside of town and it's social circle. Maybe, just maybe, he was different. Different from _him_.

The forced mention of _him_ made images of a sour night flash through your mind. The feeling of bruises. Splitting skin. _His_ laughter. The sounds of sirens. You couldn't deal with this today, so you finalized on pushing those memories away. You'd have to deal with it another day. Have _that_ be the reason to ruin yet another potentially good day. Your day was uncomfortable enough, you didn't need any more of this. Sucking in a breath, you got ready in the silence of your home, the distant murmur of the TV as some sort of stimulation. You had pulled on a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans with a (f/c) hoodie over a classic white t-shirt as your outfit choice of the day. Usually you liked to wear “quirky” slogans or things to make people do a double-take. But, if you were going to run into a scraggly cutie in the woods, may as well look at least a bit presentable. With the effort of trying to look nice, you felt ready to head into the world. More so, the quiet world of trees and a potential encounter with a very specific person. You laughed at yourself, getting excited over meeting someone you had just met and had spent a total of 30 minutes with. 

Picking up the leash you had tossed onto the counter the previous night, Apollo immediately perked up his ears and trotted over, wiggling to show his already building excitement. How could you deny him of a good walk? You crouched down and slipped the leash around his neck, lightly patting the top of his head, "You ready to go, big guy?" You cooed, “Don’t chase any squirrels today, dummy.” With a wag of a tail as a response, you took that as a ‘no promises’.

Smiling to yourself, you twisted towards the door, feeling a good sense of determination. Yes, this day was ruined, but you could make it better. You could make it a good day. With a building courage, you held a grip on the leash and led yourself and Apollo out the door. Just as yesterday, the locking of the door made a satisfying _click_. Your hand found itself turning the knob a couple of times just to make sure it was securely locked. When the security of your home stood to your liking, you turned and headed down the sidewalk that eventually led to a thin dirt path. This time, you had left your headphones behind. Your phone would probably be dead when you found it. _If_ you found it. Dreading the thought of possibly having to buy a new phone, you set your mind onto finding the blasted rectangle. Even with your wavering attitude, Apollo was as happy as ever. Two walks right next to each other? Doggy heaven.

Your walk was soon slowed when the scenery became more familiar. You were at the spot where Apollo had bolted off. You were at the spot where you had to leave from the trail. The spot you met Toby. Praying you wouldn't get lost (or maybe that you would for some extra help), you stepped into the grass to make your venture. Your eyes scanned the tall grass and bushes like a hawk for any sign of the phone. Your eyes wide and searching, drying with concentration. Closing your eyes with a sigh, you realized how dumb this was. Of course, you weren't going to be able to find it. That's just how your luck ran.

Opening your eyes back up and deciding to go back to the trail, Apollo snapped his head in a different direction and listened, frozen. You scanned your eyes back to the direction he was looking and stared as well, not sure what you were supposed to be seeing. The heart in your chest slowly starting to gain in speed and strength. With uncertainty comes fear and by god were you feeling it. But if Apollo wasn't barking, he didn't feel as though it was a threat. With a turn of your heel, you concluded that you had to get out of here and ASAP. 

"H-Hey, it's you ah-again." 

A voice had torn through your state and caused you to jump with shock, a trail of dread dripping down your spine and into your stomach. Letting out a bit of a shriek before turning to the source. It was the mysterious woods guy. Toby. Putting a hand on your chest, you breathed to calm yourself down, "Oh... My god... You scared me..."

A small chuckle came from the man as he shifted where he stood, "Thought I mi-might be able to fuh-find you here." He cooly chided.

"Oh? ... And why's that?" You questioned, coming down from your scare. 

His eyes seemed to look down at you with a spark of mischief, "Oh, you nuh-know." 

Toby's gloved hand was put out to reveal a slightly cracked rectangle. Your phone. Your eyes lit up as you snatched the device from his grasp and squealed in delight, "Oh wow! My phone!" 

Looking back up at him, the look of mischief from before seemed to have faded a bit. Though he had his odd getup, small features were now made apparent to you in the light of day. His brown hair was a lighter and warmer shade and you could now see that his eyes were most likely brown behind those bright orange goggles. The small crinkles next to his eyes alluded to the fact that he was probably smiling at you. Your smile didn't die down as you continued, "Thank you again, Toby." You subconsciously gestured that you remembered his name.

His composure seemed to change after that moment, more confident, “O-of course, (y/n)." He lightly rolled his shoulder, "I noticed on my w-way back to muh-my place last night." 

His explanation seemed to help calm you down even more. You didn't have to worry so much about how good or bad your day was going because something good was happening right in front of you. For months you haven't had a single genuine moment with another person and now, finally, you were catching up for that lost time. And all thanks to this odd guy in the middle of the woods. Wonderful. You nodded at his response, "Well, looks like I'm one lucky babe, huh?" You giggled.

Toby took in a small breath, examining your expression before returning a chuckle, "That you are..." 

Composing yourself, you put your phone into your back pocket and gave the top of Apollo's head a little scratch, "So..." You trailed, unsure of what to say.

"S-so..." Toby parroted, eyes beaming with delight.

Your brain knew that both of you wanted more to say, more time to spend here, but wasn't completely sure of where to start. After a few seconds of what that felt like minutes, Toby spoke, "W-wanna hang around wh-while I take cuh-care of a few th-things?" 

You hadn't noticed before, but as he spoke, Toby would slightly twitch. The most notable was a roll of one of his shoulders or the slight tilt of his head or neck. It slightly unnerved you but that was only because you had never met anyone who twitched as he did. It was just something to get used to. Realizing you may have been taking a bit too long to answer, you spoke, "Y-yeah! Sure."

It wasn't like you had anything better to do, so why not? There were only a few more hours of daylight anyways. Toby smiled and turned around, beginning to walk. It took you a minute to realize you had to start following him but you hurried to catch up. Meeting his side, once again, it was reminiscent of the night the two of you had shared. Walking in silence for a moment was a little awkward for you but the longer the two of you walked, the less it was uncomfortable. With your nerves basically gone at this point, you were able to pick up on a couple of quirks from Toby. Every so often his fists would clench and unclench. His twitches were small and almost looked as if he was holding them back. With proper listening, it wasn't hard to pick up on the held in small grunts or noises he would emit every once in a while. It seemed like he was trying really hard to seem as normal as possible for you. It was sweet. Slowly, it made a bit more sense as to why he hung around in the forest. Barely anyone around, no social constructs to follow, the nice ambience from the woodland creatures, and the small occurrence of yourself popping up out of nowhere. You wondered how he was thinking of you now. Did he think you were odd? Did he have the same interest that you were developing? Or did he think nothing of this? 

"Y-you're a pretty qu-quiet person." Toby spoke, interrupting your raging thoughts, "Quiet l-like a deer." 

You raised your brows in question and interest. No one had compared you to an animal before, but you took it as a compliment, "Thanks...? My brain isn't as quiet though..." You laughed it off.

Another chuckle admitted from him, "Is that wh-what was happening buh-back there? Your eyes were like a-a cute duh-deer in the hea-headlights when I ack-accident-tally scared yuh-you." 

A small red crept onto your cheeks from his comments, "Wouldn't you get scared if a stranger came out of nowhere in the middle of the woods?"

"Well... You're somebody who ca-came out of nowhere in the muh-middle of the woods and... I didn't get sc-scared." He laughed, a bit more than just a chuckle this time.

The sound warmed you up. He had a contagious laugh. The best for situations like these. But the worst for hearts with walls as big as yours. It was the kind of sound that could bulldoze through them like they were glass. You returned the laugh and sighed, "I guess you're right..." 

Another moment passed before you spoke again, "So what do you actually do around here?" 

There was a small moment of silence. A few twitches and noises came from Toby before he began to answer, "O-oh... I deal with a cou-couple small things a-around here... I make sure th-that trail puh-posts and tags a-are still up, tuh-take care of litter from huh-hikers and the occasional ca-camper... things luh-like that."

You nodded. The thought of having someone do upkeep in the woods never really passed through your mind but you figured it was reasonable. Maybe he picked it up and decided to stay since it was socially easier for him. But who were you to judge Toby's social interactions? Maybe he was great with people. He was the one out of the two of you to actually start a conversation and continue the flow you had going. Shrugging it off you continued, "That actually sounds pretty nice..."

The two of you stopped. Toby had led you to a small clearing that was near the trail. The trees hung overhead while in the center sat a log and a few stumps. A cute little hangout spot, you figured. Finding yourself sat on the log net to Toby, you took in the scenery. You took the leash off of Apollo and let him wander around. Most of the time, he was a good boy about staying close. Unless, of course, if there was a squirrel around. Even so, with the perfect time of day mixed with the chilly yet bearable atmosphere, it was nice to just sit with Toby. The soft sounds of birds and crickets all around from variant distances filled your soul with a clear feeling. You reminded yourself to come here more often.

"Y-yeah... it's nuh-nice out here. I get to suh-see a lot of animals and m-meet cuties like you." He blatantly flirted, slightly moving his eyes to you for a second before moving them back to the woods.

Your face blasted with red, "Interesting." Was all you could muster.

Rather than seeing him do any actual work, Toby resorted to conversing with you. And this time, no small talk. As it turned out, he was quite the talkative person and seemed to love getting to know you. You returned the gesture with the same amount of interest. The two of you sat and chatted for only god knows how long. You felt comfortable. This was a good thing. Talking to someone, getting to know them, maybe having a shot at something better. _Someone_ better. Better than _him_. Oh, how you wished you could just shred those memories of your past. It had been a bad situation with someone even worse. Quite frankly, it was a bad relationship to start with but it just grew to be worse and worse throughout the entirety of it. With your thoughts now running south, your eyebrows knit, hands clenched and shaking, and your body beginning to grow cold and shake. Whether it was from your thoughts or the air outside, you couldn't tell. Your emotions tended to be quite flip-floppy but you had just been smiling a few minutes ago. Were you really going to let yourself get like this around Toby? You promised yourself to never get like this around anyone. But your worry of having a "moment" in front of another person started to fade away as you felt a hand on top of yours. Your (e/c) eyes shifted to his, looking into his now un-goggled eyes. Toby looked concerned. Maybe he had been trying to get your attention while your mind faded away but you couldn't know. All you knew was that he was willing to be there for you. Your hand unclenched itself and gave time for him to intertwine his fingers with yours. Yes, it was a small gesture, but one that ran warmth through your bloodstream. A gesture that told you that even though you had barely just met, he felt a connection too. A gesture that told you that you were going to be okay. 

A small smile found its way to your lips, "I'm glad I came back." 

Toby's concerned look slightly faltered into something softer, "M-me too..." 

Your heart screamed at you to stop this. Stop holding some random guy's hand. Stop feeling soft at a time like this. Stop being vulnerable and open. But you didn't. You had been given months to figure out your shit and now it was paying off. Yes, you almost slipped again, which would have been quite embarrassing if Toby was literally anyone else, but he wasn't. So you weren't embarrassed. You found yourself slightly leaning onto him at this point. Maybe too close, but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. A few more noises came from Toby before you reluctantly spoke again, "I’ve really enjoyed chatting, but I think... I should go soon." 

The sun was beginning to set and you really didn't want to be freezing in the dark. Your words were met with silence, eyes drifting down to your hands. His larger hands lightly caressed at your skin. An act of care you hadn't felt in quite some time. Shit, you were already catching feelings and it scared you. With a blatantly audible sigh, Toby responded and broke your worry, "Y-yeah... Don't wanna huh-have you lost in the d-dark again." He teased with a small nudge to your side.

You lightly giggled and sat up, taking your weight off of him, with fingers still intertwined, "No... We don't want that." 

That's when you said your goodbyes. You got Apollo back on his leash and with an embarrassed complexion, you bid Toby a good rest of his day.

”S-see you soon, th-then.” Was the last thing said from Toby. He didn’t seem to enjoy goodbyes.

On your walk back home, you couldn't help but have your mind travel. You had only ever seen the top half of his face and yet, you could still feel a pull to him. You wondered why he really kept to himself amongst the trees. You wondered why you felt so connected with him out of the blue. Almost wanting to discipline yourself for your actions, you decided not to. You deserved something nice and Toby seemed to be quite nice. With a smile, you found yourself already at your front door. The walk was surprisingly quick and mindless.

You unlocked the door with ease and waltzed in, peacefully unaware that would be the last time in a while that you would be able to meet with the now not-so-mysterious man in the woods.


	3. Anteoculatia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh here we are. Sorry for the terrible wait but I worked very hard on this chapter and spent many days revising and adding onto this part so I very much hope you all enjoy it! There is a segment of an unhappy memory for our reader that will be in italics, signifying it to be a non-linear fixture of the story. Lemme know what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter! <3

Life was going well. You had applied to multiple jobs in the small town that you now resided in for about four months. Two of those months were reserved for job hunting. Application after application for any minimum wage job that you could find in this hole of a town. About a month ago, you finally got a hook. Two of them, to be precise. You were now a gas station attendant and a receptionist for some run-down nail spa. Two jobs weren’t exactly needed, but the gas station had no one else to work for them and the nail spa was closed every other week for no reason that you knew of. You also considered keeping both in the case that one may fall through. This town had a reputation for terrible unemployment rates. A reason to keep people away and gave you more reason to stay. Even with two jobs, things kept you busy and you got money out of it. You weren’t going to complain about that. The jobs led you to meet more people. For example, a grumpy guy with sideburns too large for his own good yet who, on the inside, was quite the teddy bear. His name was Timothy Wright and was your manager at Stewie’s (the gas station). You just called him Tim and so did everyone else, yet he still introduced himself as Timothy to everyone. He had a terrible smoking habit that had him smelling like a chimney wherever he went, but you never quite minded. If anything, you kind of liked the smell, even if you would never admit it. It wasn’t something to encourage. You learned Tim had a friend named Brian who would stop by almost every other day. The two saw you quite often and even had invited you out for drinks a few times. You had to inform them you were still under the legal drinking age and it sucked. Their faces when they heard the news made a pit in your stomach for a few days. A face that made you feel like your age had soiled the new friendships you were building. They were fresh out of college and probably drop-outs at that. Of course, they were avid drinkers. It was their main personality trait. Tim didn’t seem to mind about the age thing, just a bit unsure of how to spend time with a person who didn’t share his “hobbies”: smoking and drinking. It didn’t help that you knew close to nothing about Tim or Brian, but what you did know was that they were nice and enjoyed talking with you. Ever since meeting them, your good days would stick around without anything ruining it for once. You held a tinge of gratitude towards the boys for that though you never verbalized that to them. You were still only acquaintances. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts when a slam was heard on the counter in front of you. Your eyes focused on a grinning Brian, a tooth gap lightening up the smile with silliness. You cocked a brow at him before picking up the giant bottle of vodka to scan it, “You’re shortening yourself out tonight, Brian.” You teased with a monotone voice.

A peal of contagious laughter emitted from him before he leaned on the counter with an elbow, “You’re right... Think I should buy another?” 

“Not in the slightest.” You confessed, finally showing the smile you had hidden under a layer of apathy just moments before.

“Well…” He trailed, shifting his eyes around the room in a playful manner, “How about I get two packs of camels instead?” 

“Tim’s back onto two packs? I thought he was trying to quit.” You turned to the tall shelves of chewing tobacco, smokes, and vapes behind you to find Tim’s favorite.

“Yeah… I’ve been bothering him to get maybe a vape or those nicotine things to help ease him into quitting but I don’t think he cares.” Brain lowered his voice, leaving the playfulness to the side and speaking more seriously.

There was definitely more reason behind the words but you decided not to pry. Personal things were not to be talked about at this stage of the friendship, you decided. You needed to keep the walls up. 

“Hmm… Well if he ever does change his mind, y’all know where to get them.” You scanned the two packs and slid them towards Brain, “That’ll be-”

“$35.67?” Brain finished for you, knowing damn well how much it would be. He did this too often.

“Bingo bongo.” You giggled while he paid for the poison.

There was a moment of silence with him messing with the piece of shit card machine and you bagging everything up for him. It was enough time to have a new conversation start and Brain stole that opportunity like it was black Friday, “So… (y/n)...” Brian trailed, his eyes meeting yours.

“Yeah…?” You slightly tilted your head in response.

A small glimmer in his eyes made the corner of his mouth almost twitch up another smile, “I know I… Well, _Tim_ and I… Don’t know too much about you and vice versa…” He took a moment to clear his throat, “But I-... _We_ were wondering if you’d like to hang out sometime?” 

A small moment passed before Brian continued, “Not for drinks or anything… Just like a… A hangout sesh…” 

A hand found its way to the back of Brian’s neck, awkwardly trailing his words. He hadn’t met your eyes. All you could do was stand there, silent for a moment before speaking, “Yeah, actually, I would like that.” 

You gave Brian a sweet smile and the instant he noticed, the toothy grin was back on his face. He had to have been 23 or 24 but he smiled like a middle schooler on pizza day. 

“Oh sweet…!” Brian exhaled as if he expected you to turn the offer down. 

Given you have before, it was still amusing nonetheless. Brian finally had exchanged his number with yours and the two of you said your goodbyes for the night. The gas station was soon empty. No one around. No other workers. Just you and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights. Feeling a buzz in your pocket, you checked your crack-faced phone. What you saw was horrid. 

Brian had sent a gif of the pog guy (pogging of course) with the bumper texts “POG” and “BOTTOM TEXT”. What disgusted you most wasn’t the gif, but the fact that you outwardly laughed. It was funny. Brian was funny. You assumed he was excited to have your number as he followed it up with, “Thnx 4 da #.” 

He texted like a 13 year old. Great.

That got you through the last grueling hours of the shift. The quiet music from the shitty speakers would stifle and break every once in a while. The lights flickering in and out every few minutes. Even though you had a smile on your face, a wash of uncertainty fell upon you. The music had completely stopped a few minutes ago and the lights flickered erratically but slow. The buzzing seemed to have no end and it was beginning to dig into your head. It felt as though you couldn’t control your own body as your eyes were forced to look out the store window, twitching from the irritation. How long had you been like this? Darkness and the rising moonlight seeped through the woodland trees, through the windows and cascaded upon you. What were you supposed to be seeing? Why were you even looking in the first place? A tall, moving figure within the tree growth caught your eye. Nothing too discernible and could have been played off as something you would see in the corner of your eye. A shadow. Nothing but your imagination. A shadow moving in the bullseye of your sight. But what you called it was your imagination. You stared, frozen and still. The moon was strung in place and it felt as though you were stuck in time while still conscious of it. That’s when the coughing began. The music began to play once more and your eyes were twisted shut as a shortness of breath overtook you. Your lungs twitched and convulsed with fits, reacting as though you had inhaled a gallon of water. The immense amount of pressure and the air you were pushing out of your lungs caused you to gag a few times, doing nothing but emitting horrific dry heaving sounds. Falling to your knees, a few shots of blood splat on the floor. Deep and rusty red clotted blots spread on the tile. The hacking died down a bit after the blood came up. Only small coughs that cleared your throat continued further. You had to stay on the floor, heaving for breath and reaching for a stable head-space. The spread of a metallic taste thrived upon your taste buds, letting you discover what your own blood tasted like. It took a minute, but you stood, wiping your mouth free from red. The smearing of it ran along the back of your hand. 

_What in the hell was that?_

Your bagged eyes fell to the blood spotted floor and you heard yourself groan in protest. You’d have to clean this up now and deal with your health later. Something had you thinking this was only a one-time thing. Probably. Hopefully.

After cleaning the mess on the dirty gas station floors (not without paranoid glances behind yourself every 30 seconds), there was only a half-hour left in your shift. This gave you enough time to mindlessly look up your symptoms on the cashier’s computer in front of you. Google said that you had cancer, Bing said that you were already dead, and Yahoo said that you should probably go see a doctor. You closed the browsers. The thoughts in your head at the moment weren’t fully capable of dealing with any of this now, so you closed up the station ten minutes earlier than it was supposed to be. No one would stop by anyway and you were sure Tim wouldn’t mind if he ever asked what had happened. He was a nice guy and you were sure he valued the health of others over the empty gas station being open for another ten useless minutes. So you powered the place down and locked the doors around you. 

As you finished up locking the front door, a chill ran down your spine. It was the beginning of spring, so naturally, it didn’t phase you much. Turning, you started on your walk back home. It never took very long, as you lived only a few blocks down the road. The sidewalk was trailed along the edge of the looming forest. The sounds of wind twirling the branches and shrubs were a common occurrence but never had you feeling comfortable. It always almost sounded like a person stepping through the unraked leaves from the previous fall. A slow, methodical step that was wavering and unpredictable. Always gave the heebie-jeebies. Your hand was gripped on the pepper spray that was hooked onto your keychain, always for safe measure. To hold back your raging suspicions of creeps and figures in the night, you always focused on the distant roof of your house. You always felt warm thinking of the welcoming party Apollo would always give to you. 

Your focus was ripped from your trailing thoughts and was put onto the wide-open front door of what you now called your home. Terror bloomed inside of your heart and the oozing of fear and paranoia slicked down your spine with cold familiarity. Your breathing was raspy from your earlier fit and continued to gain in speed as if you were running a marathon. Your feet drew closer to your now cold abode but your head screeched at you to stop. This had happened before with _him_. _He_ had finally found you again. The one you were running away from. Of course, you couldn’t escape. It was foolish to think you could. But now you were going to show _him_ you weren’t scared anymore.

The house was dead silent when your feet padded into the main entrance. It was completely dark but with the help from the moon, you could see small hints of your furniture and the layout of the house. Your legs shook as they kept exploring, searching for any kind of danger. Though you were filled with determination for a possible confrontation, fear still lingered in the air and seeped into your lungs. Peering into the dead kitchen, your wide eyes caught the form of Apollo. He was curled up in the corner next to the sliding glass door. You quickened up the pace and kneeled down to the pup, “Hey buddy, you okay?” 

Your whisper came out stronger than you intended and caused for a brief scan around the house before looking at the dog once more. He nuzzled your extended hand and his tail lightly padded on the tile floor. He was okay. This calmed you for a moment before the sound of the creaking stairs alarmed you. Sirens blasted through your skull as the creaks increased in speed. Standing with a twirl to face what had once been behind, a shadow increased in proximity within the center of your sights. Your heart could have possibly stopped at that moment but something told you to move out of the way. The sound of ceramic shattering on the wall behind where you once stood prompted you to look. One of your potted plants from the living room was now in shattered pieces. Once more, the sounds of footsteps reminded you of the unwelcome guest. A tall figure approached you with a strikingly hostile composure. Their footsteps had you clawing for anything that could come to your aid. Then it hit you, the pepper spray was still gripped in your hand. _‘USE IT!!_ ’ Your head blared as your hand rose and pushed down the top to spray the spicy poison directly towards whoever was in your house. Your adrenaline caused for some surprisingly good accuracy, whereas in other cases, your aim with these sorts of things was shit. The target stumbled with their steps but, as if they were some sort of superhuman, they composed themselves in seconds and charged at you again. Within a millisecond, you found the air in your lungs being taken from you and a burning pain grew along your spine and back. The giant figure was now on top of you and was convulsing while seething their breaths. The moonlight beamed through the doorway and illuminated the figure. They had an eerily feminine mask that had black drawn around the eyes, on the lips, and eyebrows that were curved in surprise. A face drawn to mock others. Their tan jacket was dirtied and had speckles of a rust-colored substance. Their eyes were wide open and bloodshot with an unreadable meaning. Their head tilted slightly, almost as if they were teasing you or just trying to show an emotion you couldn’t understand. In your barred state, all you could look at was the intruder sticking their gloved hand into their pocket. Screwing your eyes shut, you had assumed this was the end. They would pull out a gun or a knife and you would be limp on the floor in a matter of minutes. Dead for your neighbor to find in the morning with the door wide open. You prepared for the worst but nothing came. No strike, no bang, no nothing. A new, lighter pressure was found on your stomach and when your eyes had opened themselves again. The figure was gone and had been replaced with a cassette tape. Your mind, for once, was blank. With a shaky hand, you lightly took the tape and examined it. It had been 20 years since the last time anyone had used any of these. Why would a crazily violent person break into your house just to give you this? It had no writing on it and was only held in a flimsy plastic case. Getting up with a pained groan, a strikingly odd thought passed through your mind, ‘At least it wasn’t _him_.’ 

The time was now past midnight and all you could focus on was cleaning up the mess that had been made and examining every nook and cranny of the house for intruders or objects unbelonging to you. A few hours brought the greatest search of your life but was met with nothing. Almost everything, except for the pot, had been untouched. Regardless, you knew that sleep was going to be impossible. You locked every entrance and opening of your house. Tonight was going to be spent on the couch, with a safety bat, and a too-friendly guard dog.

You sat upon said couch and waited. No music, no tv, no talking. For the first time in almost a year, you sat in complete silence. You couldn’t care less if every thought was going to rush through your head, you wanted any and every advantage possible if anything was going to be stepping into your home unannounced. Apollo sat faithfully at your side on the floor next to you, glancing and wagging his tail at you every so often. He probably was wondering why neither of you had gone to bed yet. You envied his ability to not fully comprehend the situation and took a moment to love on your pup. A scratch behind his ear was his favorite and had you feeling a bit calmer. Apollo was no support dog but he sure felt like one. The night soon turned into dawn and the sun peeked through your windows, peering as if to ask _‘Are you okay?’_. The light was met without an answer. This warmth of the morning cascaded upon your sleeping figure, passed out from a restless night that led to your brain knocking you out cold.

_“Oh come on, hon…”_ **_His_ ** _gravelly voice echoed in your head._

 **_His_ ** _tone was set sweetly but the implications were ice cold. Frost was practically dripping from_ **_his_ ** _mouth and sliding into the room like a hurricane. The spark in_ **_his_ ** _eyes whispered to you of_ **_his_ ** _thoughts in_ **_his_ ** _head and all you wanted was for_ **_him_ ** _to close them. Thought upon thought from those eyes dripped into your head. The things_ **_he_ ** _wanted to say to you. The things_ **_he_ ** _wanted to do to you. It all just needed to stop. But there_ **_he_ ** _was, across the kitchen seething with violence. Once a place full of warmth and pleasing aromas was now replaced with an eternal winter and a smell to even turn away flies._

_“N-no…” Your voice wavered and closed on itself to try and make you stay silent._

_“What?”_ **_His_ ** _teeth gritted and_ **_his_ ** _eyebrows crunched together._

_“I-I…” You couldn't say it. Not again. It was too hard._

**_His_ ** _eyes bore into your own, wide and unblinking._ **_He_ ** _wasn’t going to let you go so easily._

_Not this time._

Air filled your lungs as you jolted awake on the couch. A blanket was rested upon your body and Apollo was curled up next to you on the couch. The room was warm and your heart was still beating. _He_ wasn’t here. The intruder from last night wasn’t here. You were. Alive and safe. 

The sun was up and cascaded upon you was a new day. You needed a walk.


End file.
